SILENT MOBIUS ZETA

MEGADYNES

Megadynes are the Silent Möbius equivalents of a Bladerunner replicant and a Bubblegum Crisis boomer. They are synthetic humans (ie. androids) built for construction and combat purposes. During the course of the Silent Möbius manga only one megadyne is seen for any length of time - this megadyne being the killing machine known as "Wire". Wire is very strong (he wrecks an AMP spinner with his bare hands), very fast (twice he single-handedly kills an entire police investigative squad) and very tough (he survives an exploding spinner at close range). A megadyne built with Wire's abilities should have a minimum of 30 STR, a DEX of 20 (or better), a 4 or 5 SPD, 12+ inches of superleap, extra BODY, Damage Resistance (or Damage Reduction) and so forth. Other powers are variable; Wire himself used a long monomolecular wire mounted in one arm to slash his targets to pieces. As with cyborgs, a megadyne should also have one level of Density Increase. Also, a megadyne's unusual heat signature makes them easy to spot with the proper sensory equipment.

In Side 10 new megadynes are shown. These models are humanoid in form, although they seem to be missing most of their "flesh" and look almost skeletal. These megadynes are being used in construction and are obviously very strong. In many ways these megadynes seem closer to the larger boomers of Bubblegum Crisis, and certainly share many similarities to the construction boomers from Bubblegum Crash. Units like these should have a STR of 40+, at least one level of Density Increase, and/or one level of Growth. They probably have the "Takes no STUN" power as well.

During the course of Silent Möbius, Asamiya drops a few interesting clues concerning the nature of megadynes. After surviving her fight with Wire, Kiddy comments that the technology used to rebuild her body came from megadyne research. Thus, in order to fight the megadynes she had to become one. Earlier in the same story line Katsumi mentions a "replicants' rebellion in LA". This is a not-so-veiled reference to the movie Bladerunner. Thus, it is possible that rogue megadynes may be an occasional problem and that hunting them down may be a job of a special division of the local police or the AMP themselves. Further emulating the Bladerunner angle, Game Masters may want to consider the possibility that domestic and pleasure megadynes exist as well combat and construction megadynes.

As a final note, Kiddy never does manage to eliminate Wire; instead his operating lifespan runs out and Wire self-terminates. Towards the end of the Wire storyline, Yuki mentions that Wire (or megadynes like him) are made by Nagata Heavy Industries. The current model is a Type CO-201, Wire is from one generation before, and Lebia states that "It can't get the life span extension treatment..." (an effect similar to the bioroids from Appleseed). By the way, a megadyne's blood is white (just like the synthetics in Alien and Aliens).

There are a number of replicants found in other sources that could be adapted for a Silent Möbius game. These include the 33-S boomers from Bubblegum Crisis, Anna and Uni Puma from Dominion, the "seconds" and "thirds" from Armitage the III, and the Nexus 6 and 7 models from Bladerunner. The large boomers from Bubblegum Crisis, such as the Bu-55C and the Bu-12B are possible, but don't quite seem to fit with the rest of the universe. Removing the internal weapons systems (such as the mouth-mounted ion cannons) would probably be the best way to make such an android fit into a Silent Möbius setting.